Witt builds on family ties

College football if anything, is tradition.
It's ripe with rituals, legends and bonding moments that last for
generations.

Football's been a part of Wittenberg since
1892. There are plenty of memories and more than a few heroes to
accompany them. When other schools have penned chapters, the Tigers
lug their tales around by the volume.

A Saturday evening thunderstorm delayed the
Tigers 45-28 victory over Capital until Sunday, joining the 700-win
club was inevitable. Wittenberg's all-time record is
700-347-32, that's a winning percentage of just under 65 percent.
The consistency has spanned recessions, depressions, world wars and
22 presidents.

Talk about constant -- the last time the Tigers
suffered a losing season was 1955. That fall a newcomer named
Johnny Cash was first hitting the charts, Eisenhower was in his
first term and in Alabama, Rosa Parks riding in the front of an
Alabama bus.

“At small colleges, like ours, all of our current and
former players are close knit,” Fincham said. “You can
stay close. There is just so much going on at larger schools, you
lose track. You don't really have a personal connection. Here
graduates can, and do get involved.”

The football fraternity is amazingly
supportive, he said. It's more than alums just coming to games or
being members of a paid booster club or golf outings. It's like
strips on the sleeve to servicemen. The Tiger family is always
reaching out. They'll drop a recruit's names to coaches and are
frequent visitors to campus, it's an active group.

When players first visit, they may not always
know the legends of Wittenberg's fall. At least not beyond the
stats and pictures on the wall. The connection will quickly come as
the past embraces the present.

“It's easy for me to talk about
tradition,” Fincham said. “When we have guys come back
to visit, we get them in front of our players, it's huge for
everyone.”

Sure its partly to get the new generations acquainted with
what it means to be a Tiger and challenge them to buy into it. But,
more importantly it's really a building a family.

As a rookie position coach in 1990, Fincham came to Springfield
as an outsider. He felt experienced something different, he still
does. “Once I met the alums, it didn't take very long for me
to know about Wittenberg and its tradition. These old guys, still
take a great deal pride in the program.”

It was was Hall of Fame coach Dave Maurer who
sought out Fincham as a newcomer. Under Maurer, Wittenberg won two
national titles in 1973 and 1975. The Tigers contended for two more
in 1978 and 1979. During his tenure the program was rarely out of
first place in the conference. Maurer died in July at the age of
79.

“He wasn't coaching football, but was the golf coach then,
believe me, he still had plenty of fire in him. He taught me what
it meant to be a Tiger. I didn't play here and I knew being a Tiger
was extremely important.”

Of all the lessons he was taught and observed, the one that
stands out wasn't about the program building, play-calling or
postgame analysis.

“The most important thing he taught me was how to treat
people. He was so good with the alumni, he always made people feel
special. He made me feel comfortable and welcome.”

Fincham seeks to keep that philosophy alive in his program. He
says the Wittenberg team is more than who's listed on in
program.

“I think there are sports that can be are a one-man show,
an operation where the head coach does it.” Not here, with
our program. Football is so unique, my program is just a small
piece of it. We have a lot of coaches, a lot of players and it
takes and the support of the administration. It's so highly
competitive. And let's not forget the campus community. I hope they
feel a part of it, because they are.”

With 700 wins, Fincham said it's not hard to keep push and
striving. What's your next milestone? “The next game, win
701.” he laughed. “We won a lot of big games, we've
also lost a lot of big games. (After the game) We just get focused
on the week ahead.”

But, I could be wrong While No. 22 Trine wasn’t overpowering in its 24-13
win over Manchester, don’t forget this is still a
defense-first operation. It’s easily to remember the big
scores and 400-plus yard games that were orchestrated by an
all-American signal-caller, this is a defensive unit that
traditionally makes things happen, including forcing four
turnovers. Thursday, it scored on an interception and a fumble; it
also was set up nicely by another interception.

If you gain more than 320 yards, compile 26 first downs, hold
the ball more than 32 minutes and convert on 6-of-16 third downs
you typically win, correct? Well, Saturday in Baldwin-Wallace
blanked the College of Wooster which had those exact numbers. B-W
had 16 first downs, 329 offensive yards and 2-of-10 on third
down.

Top performances from the region
In is his first start, Adrian's Brandon Miller connected on 16 of
23 passes for 320 yard and four touchdowns before being lifted in
Adrian's 77-7 win over Husson. The Bulldogs also set a program
record for points scored.

Kirby Harris of Marietta hauled in 11
receptions for 116 yards and three touchdowns in a 32-24 over
Thiel.

Joe Powell scored on a 41 yard interception
return in Ohio Northern's 38-20 win over North Carolina Wesleyan.
The junior linebacker also had a fumble recovery and eight
tackles.

Mike Page of Kalamazoo had 13 stops, including
a sack in a 39-14 Hornet win over Bluffton.

Olivet fell to Cornell 36-35, as the Comets'
losing streak grows to 28 games. The silver lining, James Williams
had a pair of special teams touchdowns: a 90-yard kickoff return
and a 65-yard punt return. He finished with 238 all-purpose yards
and three total touchdowns.

Linebacker Ryan Ferguson collected nine
tackles, returned an interception 57 yards for touchdown and a
fumble 32 yards for another score for in Case Western
Reserve’s 27-17 win over John Carroll. Teammate Manny Sicre,
in his first college appearance rushed for 172 yards on 16
carries. John Carroll quarterback Devin O’Brien
connected on 22-of-34 passes for 275 yards a two touchdowns in the
loss.

Germany Woods led Heidelberg to a 34-28 overtime victory over
Alma. Woods rushed for 174 yards and a touchdown. Michael
Mees, a freshman, was 21-of-40 for 275 yards and four touchdowns
for the Student Princes.

Capital's Ryan Williams had 11 receptions for 120 yards in their
45-28 loss to Wittenberg.

Josh Mandel completed 26 of 36 passes for 322 yards, including
four touchdowns in Oberlin's 42-0 victory over Kenyon.

Matt Bliss was 19-of-28 including three touchdowns to complete a
286 yard performance for the Washington and Jefferson. Alex
Baroffio had 133 yards and seven receptions in that game in the
President's 40-0 win over Juniata.

Otterbein signal caller Austin Schlosser threw for 271 yards and
three touchdowns in a 28-27 overtime win over Gallaudet. Cardinal
teammate Trey Fairchild was a prime target of those aerials, he
tallied 196 yards receiving on eight passes, two were
touchdowns.

Great LakesRegion Teams in
D3football.com’s Top 25 Poll This Week
No. 2 Mount Union (OAC)-did not play, holding steady.
No. 10 Thomas More (PAC)-Down one spot, but didn't play
No. 13 Ohio Northern (OAC)-Up one spot with a 38-20 win over North
Carolina Wesleyan
No. 18 Wabash (NCAC)-Up one spot, did not play
No. 19 Wittenberg (NCAC)-It took two days, but the Tigers beat
Capital 45-28, but are they are up one slot.
No. 21 Franklin (HCAC)-Jumps up three spots with a 49-35 win at
Valparaiso (D-I FCS non-scholarship)
No. 22 Trine (MIAA) Drops one spot following a 24-13 win over
Manchester

Games of the Week
Albion (0-1, 0-0 MIAA) at No. 8 Wheaton (0-0, 0-0 CCIW) 8 p.m.,
Central: Give the Britons credit they aren't ducking
anyone. It's the season opener for the Thunder and Albion will be
fired up after a loss to Butler (D-I FCS non-scholarship). Against
a comparable rival, we'll see just how good AC is.

Washington and Jefferson (1-0, 0-0 PAC) at Delaware
Valley (1-0, 0-0 MAC) 1:30 p.m., Eastern: Lots of
story lines here. Both teams are just outside the Top 25 and
qualified for the playoffs in 2010. This game is also part of the
PAC-MAC Challenge Series. W&J rolled in a Week 1 win against
Juniata 40-0, the Aggies eeked out a 10-9 win over Muhlenberg.